'Before even the Home Minister was afraid of going to Kashmir..." Minister Piyush Goyal on Sushil Shinde's remarks

New Delhi, Sep 10: Multiple BJP leaders hit out at the Congress party on Tuesday over the comments of former Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on the security situation of Jammu and Kashmir during the Congress-led government.

During the launch of his memoir "Five Decades of Politics" on Monday at the India International Centre in Delhi, Shinde said that when he used to visit Kashmir's Lal Chowk and Dal Lake in Srinagar as the Home Minister, he used to get scared and was unable to share all this with anyone despite getting good publicity for his visits.

Criticising the previous Congress government over the remarks of Shinde, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that now the security of the nation is so strong that even 'opposition leaders' play in the snow in Kashmir without any fear.

"During the Congress rule, even the Home Minister of the country was afraid of going to Kashmir. But now, under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi, the security of the nation is so strong that even the 'opposition leaders' play with snow in Kashmir, without any fear." said the union minister in a post on X.

Additionally, BJP leader, Amit Malviya also criticised Rahul Gandhi and praised the efforts of the Union government to improve the security situation in the region. "Things have changed dramatically since. 2-3 crore tourists visit Jammu & Kashmir every year. Even Balak Buddhi (Rahul Gandhi) and his sister were seen indulging themselves in a game of snow ball fight." said Malviya in a post on X.

He also said that the abrogation of article 370 has improved the lives of the people and diminished the influence of 'corrupt' Abdullah and Muftis.

"Abrogation of Article 370 has changed lives of people in Kashmir. Strengthened democracy at the grass roots, diminished influence of corrupt Abdullahs and Muftis." he added.

BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli also said that the comments of the former Home Minister are quite revealing and show that the Congress government did not take the security of the region seriously.

"Sushilkumar Shinde is a very serious Congress leader, and his comments as a former Home Minister are very revealing. They confirm that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir under the Congress party were terrible. The Home Minister was petrified to go there, that is his own statement. It confirms that the policy towards Jammu and Kashmir under Congress, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru, right up to his (Sushilkumar Shinde) time and beyond was a failure. Additionally, it also shows the lack of concern of the Congress government. It required a third party to tell him 'ki aap Lal Chowk jaiye' (please go to Lal Chowk)," said Kohli in a statement

He further said that Congress government never intended to solve the problem in Jammu and Kashmir. "While he acknowledges that he got publicity, the intent was never to solve the problem in the manner Prime Minister Modi's government has been doing, which is why it led to the abrogation of Article 370." he added.